Ashes to Ashes
by BigAznDaddy99
Summary: Naruto has returned to Konoha but why was he taken away and how was he changed through his travels. What has made him so different that he now carries a weapon as big as he?
1. Return of the night

The night sky swallowed the peaceful hidden village of the Leaf as the patrols guarded against the unknown. A cloaked figure neared the massive gates from the road leading to the village, not giving a second thought to those Anbu intently gazing at him. As the man neared the barrier a small gust of wind blew back his dark cloak and those watching him could only wonder how the man, no the boy, could carry such a thing. The boy only looked ahead; he was back.

XXXXX

An elderly man walked along the dark streets of the Leaf, humming to himself as he went to his home, where his grandson would hopefully be asleep. The man's unique hat covered his balding head and not even the thought of old age could dampen his smile. Everything was going well in the village; many missions being completed, a low causality rate, and a new batch of Genin were going to be graduating tomorrow. Tomorrow…. Was there something special about that day?

The Hokage's eyes snapped up as a figure walked towards him, a dark cloak covering his body. No matter how much covered the stranger the old man still knew what laid underneath and a smile appeared on his face; he remembered what was so special with tomorrow. The dark figure walked past the old man and the Hokage coughed. "You're going to the academy tomorrow to be placed onto a Genin team."

The boy turned around in surprise but the old man just laughed, continuing to walk on and leaving the boy wondering.

XXXXX

Ino would normally be taking her sweet time getting to the academy, window shopping on her way, but not today, today was an important day after all. Today would be the day in which she would get her own genin team and finally show that pink-haired girl, as well as show the whole world, exactly who they were dealing with. Well, said girl was also a problem right now because- "Ino-pig! I won't lose to you!"

The two girls were neck in neck heading for the final stretch of their competition as their classroom came into sight. In a mad dash the two girls spewed into the room, both claiming to be first, breathing heavily. "Haha you Pig, I got in first." The blond haired girl held herself proudly. "Ya right Sakura! Ha! I won and now Sasuke's mine!" Ino quickly turned around, grabbing onto the infamous Uchiha. "Sasuke-kun! You'll be on my team right?" Sakura fumed, and she sat down on the other side of the black haired boy and snuggling herself against him to his utter annoyance.

Sitting on the highest tier of the room the cloaked boy stared at the blabbering masses, what a waste of time. He wouldn't have returned had it not been the yelling of his guardian, not exactly his sensei, and when he did come back the Hokage made him do this; go on a useless genin team. The boy closed his eyes, feeling the eyes of the class on him, it was always the same. No matter where he went it always seem to haunt him and the eyes were always piercing through him, trying to find something deep inside of himself.

The boy cracked open his eye, hearing the noise of the room drop significantly and knowing that something must have occurred for that to happen. "Class, today is the day that you've all been waiting for, and-and" the boy stared at the older man, a scar bisecting his nose; didn't the man know that emotions did not belong in the shinobi world? Joy, happiness, pride, they all clouded the mind. The teacher cleared his throat. "Your new teams have been decided. Oh wait. We have a new classmate." All eyes focused on the boy in the dark cloak. "Yes. It was somewhere around here." The man pulled out a letter from one of the pockets of his vest and read it over quickly. The anticipating body of genin did notice it but for the blonde boy it was simple, sweat, stuttered speech, visible anxiety in his eyes, yup, he knew.

"Here-here's your new classmate, Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto walked to the front of the room, not bothering to take off the cloak that covered his body. "W-Well tell us about yourself." Iruka asked, nervously twitching. The boy said nothing; he only stared at the sea of anticipating kids.

"Ok. Well create a Bunshin to pass the genin test." The chuunin stated and the boy complied, creating a replication of himself quite easily. The eyes still trailed him as he walked back to the top, and he didn't bother to look at the rest of the class as he walked by.

A slight ripple in his skin caused the blonde to turn around, catching the crumpled letter in his hand as he did so. He had turned a little too quickly however and the hood of his cloak fell back, showing his spiky blonde hair and his whiskered cheeks to the room. Giddy voices filled the room now and the boy quickly put his hood back on, continuing on through the class room. "Did you see him?" "Why is he hiding?" "He's beautiful." The whispers continued to permeate the class and the boy almost let out a sigh of relief but then he heard a distinct male voice whisper as though to himself. "What the hell was he carrying?"

Naruto sat down; still feeling the eyes on him as he carefully adjusted his cloak to his position. Slowly he turned his head to the right to find a pair of blank eyes gazing at him intently. As soon as his eyes locked on, the other pair was gone and he could see the red infusing into the girl's cheeks, another one full of unnecessary emotions. "Ok everyone lets get started." The man in front coughed again. "Starting with Team Seven there's Inuzuka Kiba, Haruno Sakura, and… Uchiha Sasuke." A shrill scream pierced the room and the pink haired girl leapt up and down. "Haha! Beat you Ino-Pig!" The pony-tailed girl burst with anger but soon calmed when her name was called. "Team Eight will be Yamanaka Ino, Hyuuga Hinata, and… Uzumaki Naruto." Naruto sighed, glancing at the blonde who was going to be his teammate, of all the people it had to be that noisy one. A small voice sounded in his ear and he doubted anyone else could have heard it as the other teams were decided. "N-Nice t-to meet you." The boy turned his head to look into those pale eyes again and he figured it was his other teammate, 'Stuck with an indecisive girl as well.'

The three new teammates didn't have to wait long after the chuunin finished announcing their teams for their Jounin teacher to arrive. The cloaked boy followed a few paces behind his dark haired teacher when the group was walking through the street, the two girls silently by her side, that blonde one fuming for some reason or another. It wasn't until they passed by a shop with a red sign reading "Quality Clothes Here!" did Naruto realize that he had been snared, it was the second time passing that sign. Any normal person would have thought it not odd to have a double of the same shop but Naruto knew differently, the smells didn't match what his eyes told him.

Silently moving his hands into a seal Naruto slipped away from his new team, leaving an exact replication in his place as he hopped onto the rooftops, observing their movements and looking for any sign of possible attack. He had been correct in assuming that it was genjutsu, if a weak one at that, because they were now in a residential district instead of a market where the jutsu told them to be.

The boy wondered why exactly the skill had been used but he didn't have time to think long when a voice he had come to learn spoke out. "Haven't we been walking in the market for a while! I mean I've seen that dress one times too many!" His Jounin teacher only looked at the blonde girl. "What could you possibly mean Ino-san?" This time the blank eyed girl looked at the older woman, "I-I also think it has been a long walk Kurenai-sensei." The woman arched an eyebrow. "And you boy?" his clone simply nodded, or what seemed to be a nod, while still looking straight ahead.

"That's great! You all did very well in seeing the genjutsu!" The Jounin waved her hand and the illusion disappeared, which earned a squeak from the Hyuuga. "You all pass the real genin exam. Congratulations, we are now officially team eight." Kurenai spoke, giving them a small smile. Naruto just stared at her; that was it? He had thought the Bunshin test was pathetic but just a genjutsu test for being on a team? Just how strong, or weak for that matter, was the Leaf?

Team eight proceeded to the forest where they sat in a clearing set aside just for them. Promptly their sensei sat down on a log, telling them to join and Naruto continued to watch from afar, trying to see if his teacher actually sensed his presence. "So I want everyone to state their name, their likes, dislikes and goals." Ino immediately stood up, smiling brightly.

"I'm Yamanaka Ino. I like flowers, dresses, and ummm a certain boy. I dislike loud people, and lazy people. And my dream is to get a certain someone…" she blushed as she spoke and all Naruto thought in his mind was 'She should quit being a kunoichi.'

The shy girl was up next, her short blue hair shifting slightly as she stood up. "I'm-I'm Hyuuga Hinata. I-I-I admire... I dislike… My dream-My dream is…" she sat back down, not able to say anything. 'She is very indecisive.'

"Boy you're up next." His teacher said curtly and Naruto had a feeling she didn't quite trust him. The clone stood and Kurenai drew a kunai, throwing it at him. "Sensei!" Ino screamed. Blood sprang from Naruto and the girls watched horrified as he collapsed to the ground, only to disappear in a cloud of smoke. Naruto fell from his perch, no longer feeling a need to hide away and Kurenai raised an eyebrow but quickly hid her shock. 'That wasn't a normal Bunshin?'

The two kunoichi gaped at him as though they had spotted a ghost and Naruto walked to them, finding a smile on his sensei's face. "Good of you to join us." Ino's mouth tried to form words and Hinata just looked dumbstruck. "How-When-What?" Ino stated, confused as ever. "He was gone before you found out about the illusions."

Before Kurenai could speak again Naruto was a blur, charging straight at the woman. The boy threw a kick at her and he wasn't too surprised when she parried his foot and then stand to stare at him. "Just what do you think you're doing boy?" Naruto stood in a crouched fighting position, "That is what I wanted to ask you, SIR."

Ino's eyes were wide as saucers and she intended to reprimand the boy for making such a rude comment when a chuckle erupted from her sensei. "Very well, come and make me speak." Naruto didn't wait until his "sensei" was in any position to fight as he disappeared in a blur, only to come back behind the person.

A smile appeared on Kurenai's face at the boy's attack, he was quite good. The woman turned around to block the attack but she was fully surprised when the fist passed right through her hand while a heavy blow connected to her back.

The two girls stared in disbelief as the woman no, man, came to a halt. The tall ninja, as he seemed to be by the skills he showed, had silver hair that jutted into one direction and a look that said he was impressed, it was not every day that a genin could land a blow to a Jounin. "Why are you here?"

The Jounin smiled, or what Naruto took as a smile underneath that mask. "An articulate one aren't you?" Naruto lowered himself, preparing to strike again. "If anything happens go back into the village." Naruto said to no one in particular but he knew the two girls were nodding, knowing what to do.

The man put up his hands, "I'm not here to fight, actually I was just helping a friend and…" The man grabbed a hold of the frightened blonde kunoichi and held her to the ground, a kunai pressed to her neck. "Kill the other girl or she gets it." Naruto's eyes narrowed beneath his cloak and he quickly subsided the rage coursing through him.

"The mission always comes first." Naruto stated at a whisper and the man arched an eyebrow, the kunai making contact with her skin. "She'll die if you don't kill the other girl!"

Naruto calmly walked forward. "But those shinobi who can't protect their teammates are dirt." A smile appeared on the man's face. "Very good boy." The man slowly stood to the kunai held to his own neck by a clone, or was it the real thing?

A woman appeared by his side, a cool and serene look about her. "Sorry. I just had to test you to see if you could pick out an imposter." Spoke their real sensei. The man took advantage of the sudden appearance of the woman and disappeared while Kurenai took a seat next to the two girls after she pulled Ino up, Naruto still standing.

"Ninja's are holders of many secrets and it is imperative that a ninja knows who exactly they are giving information to. You were lucky that this boy was able to sense the genjutsu or else you would have failed. There are also times when a shinobi must decide between life and death and in those times a shinobi must not falter, they must work together."

The frightened Ino slowly came back to her senses. "So we passed sensei?" Woman nodded and Ino let out a joyous yell. "HAHA! I can beat any test thrown at me!" Ino sat back down and then she realized she knew nothing of the boy in front of her except for his name and that he was a skilled ninja, not as skilled as her of course.

"Hey! You still haven't introduced yourself Naruto!" Ino yelled and Hinata sat timidly, not able to say anything especially after that event. How many times had she been told she was weak and that she depended on people? It was not very different now that she was on a genin team. She, a Hyuuga, couldn't even detect a genjutsu even when Kurenai-sensei taught her so much and her bloodline gave her an advantage in seeing them. Hinata felt pathetic. She couldn't speak, she couldn't fight, heck she couldn't even move but somehow it felt as though she was following the right path when she determined she would work as hard as she could and learn from her team.

Ino spoke again, taking the center of attention once again. "Well are you gonna say something?" Naruto tensed, clenching his fist underneath his cloak. "My name is Uzumaki Naruto, that is all you need to know." The blonde pointed her finger at him. "You can't cheat like that! Let us see who you really are?" Ino lunged at him, trying to take off his cloak but failed miserably as she fell to the ground when Naruto sidestepped her attempt. "Don't do that."

"What are you hiding under there? Why can't we see?" Ino gritted her teeth, trying again to take off his cloak, why was he hiding his face?

"Is it just because you're scared? Huh? Is that it? Too scared to show your ugly face?" To her surprise Naruto stopped, forcing her to halt her attempts because she did not want to accidentally run into him.

"Scared? I don't have to luxury to be scared." Naruto let his shoulders relax, if he was going to work with them, then they might as well see what he looked like. Naruto found the piece of cloth holding the cloak to him and undid it, letting his protection fall to the ground. The three females looked at him, stunned. Naruto was around five foot three and possessed a body that could only be called muscular. He didn't have those massive muscles of one solely devoted to weight lifting but for a boy of twelve he was built but that must have been because of the massive sword he carried on his back. Ino didn't know how the boy in front of him could possibly carry such a thing; it was as long as he was and probably one foot thick, it must have weighed a ton! The sharpened steel of both sides of the thing looked like it would be able to cut into a tree trunk like it was nothing.

The second Ino looked at his face she was done marveling at the sword he carried. Naruto's thick blonde hair swayed gently in the wind and his light blue eyes captivated her, they were the perfect reflection of the sky, except, except they seemed to hold nothing in them, not an ounce of emotion. Naruto's face seemed to have lost the fat in its cheeks and he had a more mature look on par with that of the prized Uchiha. Not only did he look mature but those lines that were scarred on his face made him look, well for no better word for it, hot.

Ino looked him up and down as was surprised the boy had such taste. His black pants matched with his black tank top, which looked to be made from a soft, yet tough, material. Ino tired not to stare at his body but who couldn't when the top covering the boy was clinging so that it showed his muscles. The rest of his chest was covered with mesh netting, going up to his collar bone. Across his chest he wore a belt diagonally with knives looped into it. They weren't your regular kunai with a long handle; instead they looked to be designed specifically for throwing. Of course he also carried the usual shuriken/kunai holster on his left leg but upon closer inspection Ino spotted something behind him and the grip to it named it as another weapon that was held behind his lower back.

Naruto's right hand was covered in a black gauntlet, which went up to below his elbow, and the rest of his arm was covered in bandages. Naruto's left palm was bandaged as well, probably for a better grip on his sword. The only color that was not black or white on him was a piece of dark red cloth, tied securely around his right bicep.

The females were snapped out of their trance when Naruto put his cloak back on, done with letting them look at him. "Wha-wha-wha." Ino tried to speak but she was still dumbfounded by his appearance, he was a one man arsenal for crying out loud. Naruto turned, letting the wind catch his cloak for an instant. "If that's all then I'm leaving."

Coming out of her ogling Ino stood up, looking at her new team. "How about we all go for something to eat?" Naruto continued to walk on, not turning around while he said, "I'll pass." Not one to give up Ino used plan B. "Hey we need to get to know each other if we're gonna be on the same team right? So let's go!"

The blonde boy turned around reluctantly finding nothing wrong with her logic. "Let's go then." Happily Ino grabbed onto the two other members of the squad, who were still shocked by Naruto's appearance, and quickly took the lead, having the young man walk behind her.

After a short walk from the fields Ino promptly decided on a small ramen stand where she heard they could get some decent food. Only after the boy sat down did Ino chose a seat, planting herself right next to him because he had become her next big mystery. Ino was the type of person who wanted to find whatever there was hidden underneath, such as when she took in Sakura to learn why everyone picked on her or Ino's crush on the Uchiha who was so mysterious and hidden. Some would say that she was nosey but she preferred curious, I mean who didn't want to know about some boy who carried a sword as big as he was?

Ino tried to spark small talk but she wasn't getting anywhere. Kurenai and Hinata sat to one side, the girl meekly letting the woman instruct her, more like lecturing, and so Ino couldn't talk to those two and the boy, well he was just annoying.

Ino looked over to her right and saw the noodles of the ramen disappearing into the hood of the cloak. "Hey Naruto why don't you just wear your hood down? You've got nothing to hide right?" The swordsman looked over to her and his hood shook back and forth and Ino frowned. If he wasn't going to do it then she would. Like lightning her hand went to his hood and she pulled it down, revealing his face to the old man and girl behind the counter who gasped at his appearance, the latter ogling with a lustful look.

"Boy. Boy is that really you?" Naruto put his hood back on and turned to leave, leaving them all staring at him because they didn't know why he was in such a hurry. Ino quickly left the stand, which left Hinata, who was twiddling with her fingers, and Kurenai, who yelled at them to meet by some tree tomorrow. The sun had already sunk and Ino hugged herself for warmth as she shadowed the boy. 'Where exactly is he going?' As soon as they had gotten away from eyeshot of the stand the cloaked boy in front of her disappeared, making Ino cross her arms in frustration. Where could he have gone?

Ino began to walk in the direction she thought Naruto had gone but then decided it wasn't worth her trouble to go after him and headed for home. She walked for about two blocks when she heard the pounding of flesh onto the wall and she ducked behind a trash can to get a better look into the darkening alley.

Ino almost let out a squeak when she saw the two figures, her academy sensei and her new teammate. Naruto pinned the chuunin to the wall with a kunai to his throat. "What do you need Sensei?" Naruto emphasized his title and the man looked at him with disgust. "Want? I want you! I want you dead!"

Naruto shook his head sadly. "I mean you no harm." Naruto let him go from the wall, turning as to walk away. "No harm! You killed my parents you DEMON!" Iruka lunged at the receding figure but before he could get into striking distance he was knocked back by Naruto, who showed no signs of countering except for the movement of his cloak.

After Naruto had disappeared Ino crumbled onto the ground, her eyes still wide from the sight. Demon? What was Iruka-sensei talking about? When did Naruto kill his parents? Where had Naruto been? Who was he?

XXXXX

Far from Konoha sat a ring of nine, all shrouded in a mist of darkness. Although each one was hidden from the other they all knew who and what they were and that no one would, or could for that matter, stand in their way. A husky voice spoke out, obvious dismay in his voice. "Where is she! How could we have not found her yet!" A cold voice spoke next, bringing on an icy chill. "She has hidden herself well; after all, she is one of the Jinchuuriki…"

Review Plz, tell me what u like and what u don't thx and keep on reading


	2. An unlikely awakening

Chap 2

"AHHHH! What are these weeds doing growing here! Just die already!" Ino screamed and Hinata cringed slightly. It had been one month since they had formed team eight and Hinata had not gotten used to Ino's angered screams from all those D-rank missions assigned to them. During the course of the month Ino had tried to get Naruto to open up more but the only words he ever said were "done" and "useless".

Hinata didn't know what it was exactly but each time she looked at him her heart warmed and she felt herself being pulled to him like a moth to the fire. Sure the boy was attractive, the one glance they got at him, but why did she feel like this, she had hardly said a word to him after all. Hinata couldn't figure it out but even when Naruto didn't speak to them she didn't feel as though he was being cold or mean, just distant, like he didn't want to get in too deep. She got the feeling that he was trying to hide away and not get too involved.

Hinata looked down at her hands, dirt marring her pale skin, and she shook her head. Even if these feeling for him pointed towards liking him she knew she had no chance. She was from the noble Hyuuga clan and that title drove people away, and there was also the fact that she was not considered beautiful like Ino was, with her long silky hair and developing body. What did Hinata have, some strange white eyes and a small figure? That would really bring the boys to her. Hinata looked down to the ground studying the brown earth below her, whatever this warm feeling was, whatever she felt inside her, she could not possibly act on it, wasn't it better to not get hurt?

Hinata was startled when she heard the rustle of a cloth and a canteen being put into her hands. She didn't need to look up to know who had given it to her and her insides fluttered, he was so close and, and, Hinata turned around just in time to see him disappear, the light of the sunset beating against his back. Whatever this feeling was, no whoever this person was, he felt familiar.

XXXXX (Next Day)

Ino gritted her teeth in anger and frustration, what the heck was this? She had thought being on a genin team would mean going on rescue missions and acting cool but pulling weeds? She was supposed to be picking flowers not weeds! It was not only the "Find the cat" missions that bothered her but the fact that she had made no progress. She had talked to him constantly, telling him about all her exploits as a little girl, from saving Sakura to going shopping, but he didn't say a word. After that initial get together at that ramen stand, which made Ino want to learn more after hearing Naruto might have been around here before, the boy would always turn back her offers to go eat or whatnot.

What made it even worse was that even though she knew nothing of the boy she was practically telling him all about herself like some love struck animal looking for its mate. SHE was the one the boys should chase after, not the other way around. Ino looked up at the clear blue sky while continuing to the meeting place.

Come to think of it why exactly was she trying? The guy hardly said a word, didn't seem to ever have an opinion, and he was so distant, like some other boy Ino had chased. Maybe that was it, maybe it was because Naruto was like Sasuke, but that couldn't be, Naruto was different. Sure they were both dark and mysterious but Naruto didn't hold that arrogance and superiority that the Uchiha showed like a badge of passage. For that matter when she thought about it Naruto didn't even seem that distant because even though he never said anything he was always observing them, always giving them water on particularly hot days or taking the lead in capturing a known feline monster so there wouldn't be a possibility of them getting scratched.

Ino bit her lower lip as she reached a massive tree with wooden benches beneath it, and not for the first time coming to the conclusion there was more to the boy than he let on. Before she could take a seat Ino was waving and calling to her now approaching instructor and the petite girl beside her. "Well shall we get our mission now?" Kurenai stated, not needing to look around for the dark boy to know that he was in a tree observing them and would soon be walking behind them, as he normally did.

"I'm not gonna take another one of those crappy weed pulling missions again! We're going to go on a real mission." Ino declared while walking with her team to headquarters. Hinata blushed at the looks the group got from Ino's outburst but she was silently agreed with her teammate. 'Enjoy these times of peace while you still can Yamanaka-san' Naruto thought, knowing that the lives of shinobi were of war and death.

Upon reaching the mission handouts the village's #1 Blonde kunoichi burst into a tirade, not caring that she was speaking to the Hokage, he was only the villages most revered idol right? "You better not be giving us any more of those D-rank mission's old man! If you do…" Ino tossed her head, staring straight at the Hokage with a smile on her face. "Some people will be interested in what happened at Yamanaka flower shop."

The elderly Hokage's eyes widened just a bit and he coughed, nodding his head. "I believe this team is ready for a higher mission." Sarutobi looked through a few papers and decided on one of them, handing it to Kurenai. "C-rank retrieval to the Tree country. Meet Ichi for further information." Their Jounin instructor read off.

Team eight walked to the instructed home, their blood flowing from anticipation, except for Naruto of course. After a swift knock on the door a man in his late fifties greeted the team. "Is there something you're looking for?" the man asked, running a hand through his brown hair, which had touches of gray in it.

"You should tell us. Ichi-san correct?" It took a moment before the information registered in his head and then his eyes widened. "You're here for the mission? A bunch of kids and a woman?" The man began to laugh until Ino stared at him flatly, obviously wanting to hurry and get on with the mission and hating being looked down on because she wasn't an adult. "Is there a problem with that mister?" Ino asked him in a tone that dared him to cross her. The man just shook his head, motioning them to follow as he went into his home.

"Ok. Basically all you need to do is head to Tree country and get a few things for me that I left at a friend's house. Once you're there head to a shop called Emaki's and give them this." Ichi handed Kurenai a small leather pouch, "Tell them that I sent you and you should get a scroll." Ino arched an eyebrow after the man finished his instructions. "If it's your friend why do we need to give him something?"

Ichi swallowed the lump in his throat, "It's-It's a gift, look." He motioned for Kurenai to remove the object from the pouch and when she did out slipped a black pyramidal shape with what looked to have closed eyes engraved into each side except for the bottom which harbored closed lips. Naruto eyed the object suspiciously, what kind of gift was that? Something just didn't feel right.

Having received their instructions team eight left Ichi's home, heading off to prepare for their departure at Noon. Naruto prepared all his things and was walking out of the village gates, a nagging feeling in the back of his mind. Why exactly did the client seem so nervous? What exactly was that thing that Kurenai was holding? Just why did he come back to Konoha?

Naruto's head snapped up as he heard a female voice calling for him. "Hurry up you slowpoke!" Naruto pulled the hood of his cloak lower; making sure no one saw him as he reached his team. "OK! Time for me to show off what I can do!"

XXXXX

Ino dragged her feet as she walked behind the rest of her team. They had been walking for about an hour and absolutely **nothing** happened, nothing but the dirt path and the trees around them. Ok so maybe there had been some animals or plants that she had never seen before but other than those few moments of something new, there was absolutely nothing. She had tried to spark some conversation but no one would talk, or talk without mumbling or stuttering. Ino sighed, looking around herself at more and more of the same scenery. A smile soon crept up her face and she had decided; if she had to endure this then at least she could do it with a companion.

A small rustle of the leaves brought Ino's knife zipping from her hand at the disturbance, 'That should scare it stupid.' Quickly Ino went into the bushes and grabbed a hold of a long furry animal as she let out a disappointed noise. "I wanted a rabbit not some weasel."

Hinata looked back at her teammate, horrified at what she had done to the poor thing. Sure it was a long trip but there was no need to do something like that. Hinata began to walk back to Ino to make sure the animal was all right when something leapt out of the trees, heading straight for Ino.

Fear consumed Ino as she stared into the man's face. What was happening? Why was he jumping at her? Why was he pointing a kunai at her? It took a second later for her to realize that death was approaching, that she was going to die. Fear glued her feet in place and Ino screamed, throwing her arms over her head protectively, she didn't want to die.

A sudden warmth washed over her and Ino realized she was staring at the back of a familiar cloak. That's right. She didn't need to be scared. She had her sensei right? She was safe right? Kurenai-sensei would surely protect them. And she … Naruto violently kicked the man away from his team, making the man slide along the dirt trail.

The attacker quickly stood up and the slight shift in Naruto's eyes didn't betray his thoughts, the man was different. The ninja, or so Naruto thought he was one, was deathly pale and his face was contorted in eternal rage and horror. What seemed off the most about him was that his eyes were simply lifeless orbs looking blankly at Naruto. Naruto grabbed the hilt of his blade, its power rushing out at him, and he knew the man was begging for death.

It was only a moment, a small gap in time, from the point in which the attacker leapt at Naruto to the point where he fell to the ground, cut into two clean pieces. Blood coated the dirt and the soon to be corpse struggled hopelessly to stop the bleeding. The man's eyes soon went blank and Naruto closed the man's eyes. Naruto swiftly flicked the blood from his sword, returning it to his back, and turned to see Ino staring at the corpse. A man had just died. They had just killed a person. Ino's knees gave way and she fell to the ground, still looking at the blood seeping into the dirt. Naruto began to walk towards her and something snapped in Ino. He had killed him. He had killed that stranger and he didn't even flinch and…

"Wh-Why? Why did you kill him?" Ino knew that her voice was quivering and that her hands were shaking but she had to know why, she had the right to know why. The dark boy's eyes seem to pierce her, as though weighing her and finding what it needed, and Naruto spoke. "There is only death in the shinobi world. What did you believe we were, some sort of circus? Shinobi's are killers and are rewarded for killing or did you believe that ninjas are just people who prance around without hurting anything?"

Ino shook her head slowly, knowing everything he told as true. "B-But why did you need to kill him?" Naruto continued to walk, passing her, "He was begging for death, for a way out of it all and I just gave it to him." Ino buried her head into her hands but Naruto couldn't worry about her.

He looked at his other ashen faced teammate and could tell that more of the same questions went through her head but he also saw that she understood. Hinata's eyes closed and her legs began to falter as she fainted. Naruto carefully caught her and set her on the ground, looking at his Jounin instructor who was standing before a tied up man. The man was bearing his teeth like an animal, trying to get to his teacher in a vain effort.

Kurenai sensed the presence of her student and looked to find Naruto. Her eyes widened slightly at the sight that lay behind him and she cursed for totally focusing on the man tied up and not even realizing that there was another one. Naruto's hand slipped into his cloak and before Kurenai knew it his sword was coming to slice the captive's head horizontally. He stopped a mere inch from the skin but the man kept on trying to gnaw at his captors. 'No fear.'

Naruto turned to his sensei, "Is there anyway to get info from him? Like why they waited for so long?" Kurenai arched an eyebrow, was this boy ordering her around? Who exactly was he? How come he wasn't afraid like genin should be? And mostly how could he kill a man and not worry about it? He's only twelve!

Kurenai snapped out of her brief moment of wondering and decided she would look into the boy's past later, but now she had a mission to complete. The Kunoichi formed a few hand seals and her fingertips glowed with charka as she placed them on the man's forehead. Naruto recognized the jutsu at once, a simple truth technique. The skill had the ability to make the user spill out some key words as to their activities but it only worked on those with weak minds. The man began to convulse terribly and he began to stutter incoherently until he spoke a few choice words. "Kill… Eyes… Find… Leaf… Lord…" The man's eyes rolled back into his head and Naruto's mind raced at the clues laid before him, there was defiantly something strange about that item they had gotten.

"We need to go." Naruto turned around, walking back to Hinata and Ino while Kurenai stood up. Wait. Why was he telling her what to do, she was the teacher right? Kurenai was about to give him a piece of her mind when Naruto went to wake the unconscious Hyuuga. "Hyuuga-san. Hyuuga-san. We are moving out." When Hinata began to open her eyes Naruto moved onto Ino who was still on her knees, she would be tougher.

"Yamanaka." Ino looked up to see Naruto's exposed head, he found himself more persuasive this way. "Yamanaka, we need to get moving." Ino wrapped her arms around herself and shivered and that was when Naruto knew he needed to do something. "If you are so afraid of death then quit being a shinobi. A shinobi must face death with each mission they accept and they must be willing to accept death." Ino's eyes widened and she held onto herself harder. Naruto turned to leave and without looking back he spoke. "I thought you would be better than this."

Shock filled the blonde girl as she looked at the back of the retreating boy, was he trying to encourage her? This odd feeling when he spoke those words that brought her out of the memories of death; he must have been encouraging her, helping her. Did he- did he really feel disappointed? Did he want her to become a Kunoichi? Something gripped inside of her and into pushed herself up weakly. "I won't give up! I won't quit! I'll be a Ninja! Just you wait! I'll be the BEST!" Ino yelled but found herself acting stupid and Naruto was already with their sensei, talking to her.

"This mission is too dangerous for us right now, we need to go back and decline it." Naruto hated to say that but it was the truth, with two traumatized ninja's he couldn't risk going on. Kurenai nodded. "Yes, we will go back and give this a B-rank, this is too much for us to handle. I didn't expect for us to meet ninja's on this mission, and that is my mistake." Their sensei cast her eyes downward, regret on her face.

"What! Just like that we're gonna quit! NO! I'm not going back! We went this far and we need to complete the mission!" Ino yelled, getting a look from Kurenai. "Look. You just saw a man get killed so you're probably in shock so the best thing we-" The Jounin was cut off by the blonde girl. "NO! I'm not in shock or anything! I'm fine. We're so close so it would be stupid to not go on anymore! Sensei! Please! Can't we just do this! I promise I won't bug you anymore." Ino gave her a pleading look and Naruto had decided that she really had over come her shock, he was impressed.

"There's still Hinata-chan. She's as scared as you are so we're going back." A quick shake of the Hinata's head brought all the attention to her. "I-I can go on." It was Kurenai's turn to shake her head. "No! Hinata-chan, you just saw someone die and we need to go back for your mind to rest, that goes for you too Ino."

Hinata gave her mentor a pleading look and Kurenai let her head fall. "What do you think Naruto?" The Kunoichi's looked at the boy in anticipation. "It does not matter to me." Ino jumped into the air, yelling mightily. "HAHA! Here we go!"

XXXXX

Team eight trekked along the beaten path, an unnerving silence in the atmosphere. No one had talked since the incident about those two attackers and they left it at that because both Naruto and Kurenai seemed to be in deep thought. So many questions were racing through their minds about what had occurred and what was to follow. 'There's something seriously wrong with this mission. Those two men were way too fearless and that other guy, was he some kind of creature? Was he possessed?' Naruto closed his eyes for a second, then opening them to look at the blond haired girl in front of him. 'I misjudged those two. I thought they would fold and not want to be ninja's at the first sign of trouble but. but… they had the desire to fight through it.' A quick yelp brought Naruto to look at Ino stumbling from a small ditch. She quickly recomposed herself and brushed it off as though nothing happened.

A slight feeling on Naruto's skin gave him just enough time to deflect a kunai aimed at his blue haired teammate with his long sword. "Get ready." Naruto stated calmly, pulling down his hood to scan the trees lining the road. The thick mass of trees, which the tree country was named for, did not help in the visibility but Naruto could make out a few shadows as well as feel them nearby, four of them.

A slight shift in the ground was all Naruto needed to tell that something was on its way. The boy quickly grabbed onto his two teammates and leapt back, seeing a mass of giant brown roots shoot up and separate them from their teacher. Naruto set the girls back down and undid the cloth holding his cloak while the girls finally got to their senses and dropped into a defensive position.

"Don't do anything foolish, we don't know their strengths yet." Naruto spared them a quick glance and he could tell they still weren't ready. "I'll take care of them so just defend yourselves." Naruto drew his sword, trying to sense the best opportunity for him to strike at his hidden opponents.

Suddenly Naruto darted towards one of the trees along the road, bringing his sword across to destroy the trunk. To his teammates' surprise Naruto was able to knock the tree down with a combination of cutting it and using the weight of the sword to smash through it. Naruto didn't pause in his movements as three dark green figures appeared in the sky, landing on the road and in between Naruto and the two kunoichi. "That was pretty good you bastard but-" the man was cut off as Naruto charged at him, not wasting a second.

Again Naruto swung his sword from his side but his was surprised to find that they were able to dodge it. Naruto's mind worked for a way out as the three began their assault. 'These guys are around upper genin alone but their team work is pretty good. I gotta break their rhythm if I'm gonna have a shot.'

Naruto parried a kunai as it came at him and kick the attacker away, backing up a little but that was a mistake. The sudden prickle in his skin did Naruto no good as he was sent sprawling by a branch from the tree. The blonde quickly recovered but saw that one of the nin's had their eyes closed, focusing, and he suspected it was to make the trees surrounding them attack.

Naruto cursed at himself as one of the ninja's connected with a hit to his face, sending him skidding back to the girls HE was supposed to be protecting. Naruto had had enough fooling around for one day and his hands formed a seal in the shape of a "t". "Kage Bunshin no jutsu!" Ten clones popped into existence and the two male ninjas slowed their approach but Naruto didn't give them any time.

The clones split into two groups and attacked the ninjas, who could only defend, while Naruto went after the last one standing near the trees. The branches began to converge on him but Naruto easily dealt with them with the swing of his sword. The man's eyes opened and his face filled with terror as Naruto brought his sword crashing into the man's side, throwing in charka, which made the sword blunt, so that the ninja wouldn't die. Naruto had no inhibitions about killing men but he knew that this man did not truly deserve death because he did not reek of blood.

Naruto turned to see his clones effectively beating down the other two ninjas and he quickly approached the still standing barrier of roots. Naruto's muscles tensed as he prepared to swing his massive weapon. Naruto let out what seemed to be a battle cry, more of like a roar to the girls, and the thick appendages were swept out of the way with a swing of his sword, revealing their teacher trapped by more roots.

"Run! She's too strong for you!" Naruto called but Ino didn't pay any attention and ran at their teacher's brown haired assailant. She was fed up with waiting for someone to do the work and decided it was all or nothing. The kunoichi threw herself at the woman, presumably at Jounin strength, and Naruto was surprised that she didn't get herself killed. The ex-grass nin, again Naruto presumed because of her slashed forehead protector, kicked the genin aside as she ran towards Kurenai.

The nin was about ready to slash the newly appointed teacher's throat when she had to move aside to dodge an incoming… object. She slid back and eyed the boy in front of her, kinda cute if she did say so herself, who had a massive blade in his hands. "What do you want boy?"

Naruto held his sword steady in front of him, eyeing the traitorous ninja. The kunoichi had short brown hair and half of her face was covered in a dark mask. The woman wore a green tank top, which was why Naruto knew she was a woman because she looked exactly like a man otherwise, and loose fitting black flack jacket along with dark pants.

"So what do you want boy?" she asked again and Naruto looked directly into her eyes. "I need my so called teacher here." The nin snorted, laughing. "That weakling? She's a teacher? Don't make me laugh kid." Naruto couldn't really argue with her there. Even though Naruto knew he wasn't exactly at Jounin level he had been around strong people long enough to know that Kurenai wasn't exactly strong. In fact if Naruto had to be honest he didn't know why she was even a Jounin because from what he saw, a weak genin test and showing emotions everywhere, he didn't think she deserved the title.

That didn't really matter though because Naruto knew he had to free her or else he would never hear the end of it, as well as for his own conscience. Naruto charged without warning and he began to swing his sword at her, lot letting up as she dodged effortlessly. "Naruto! Stop! She's Koyasu Yoko! She's been a missing nin for four years now." Kurenai yelled but the boy didn't heed her word.

Yoko began to leap away from Naruto and Naruto quickly tried to keep her close, throwing a knife from the strap across his chest. A look of annoyance flashed in her face as she landed, her hands pressed to the ground. Naruto flew at her, seeing his opening but his sword was intercepted by more roots, slowing the sword down so that Yoko had time to escape.

"You'll pay for killing my beautiful roots!" The woman lunged at Naruto, roots covering her arms and forming a point at the end as she began to try and stab the boy. It was all Naruto could do not to take a critical hit and he tried desperately to gain a little more distance. The blonde parried a blow and was able to leap back, composing himself as she charged again.

This time Naruto dashed to meet her, determined to strike first when something erupted from the ground, giving him a blow to the stomach, which was just what Yoko wanted. The kunoichi kicked away Naruto's sword, ensnaring it into her roots, and then she kicked Naruto sending him sprawling.

Naruto slowly got to his feet, his eyes losing focus and his knees giving way. What was this? He shouldn't be tired from such a short fight and none of the injuries he suffered were close to being able to do this. Naruto's eyes focused just enough to see Yoko calmly walking towards the boy, a triumphant smile on her face.

"So. You're feeling the stunning effects already eh? You thought that by just avoiding critical hits was enough? No. No. My dear little boy." Her smile turned into a dark one and Naruto's jaw was caught in an uppercut. Naruto could see Hinata with her hand over her mouth and Ino staring in disbelief and he desperately hoped she would give him an opening.

"What? Can't do anything without your precious little sword?" she glared down at him, sweat beading down her face. "Are you that low of a man to rely on a tool? Huh! Can't you fight with out it? You must be a really lowly ninja if you rely on a tool. HaHa to think-" Naruto had found his opening and he lunged at her with everything he had. Yoko's eyes widened as she fell backwards, a tip of steel poking through her back. Yoko landed with a thud and Naruto stood over her, a long knife dripping with blood in his hand. "If I relied on a weapon then I could never call myself a ninja." Naruto brought the knife down to finish the job when the woman was wrapped up in roots, carried beneath the earth. Naruto let out a curse and he fell unconscious.

Plz read and review, thx, tell me wut u think and hope to get some more out soon


	3. Chapter 3

Chap 3

Are Trees Your Friend?

Groggily the blond boy wiped his face, his eyes adjusting to the light of the room that filtered through the curtains. _'Where am I?'_ The boy's mind wandered a bit and then he shot up, remembering what had happened. "Naruto! Don't move around too much your…" her sentence trailed off as the blonde girl looked the boy over, not a scratch or bruise on him. "Where are we Yamanaka-san?" The girl turned her head away, a blush creeping up her cheeks, and Naruto realized that he didn't have his shirt on. Naruto's hand touched the red cloth on his arm and he relaxed, feeling everything in place. The boy quickly dressed himself and Ino turned back towards him.

Naruto looked around the room at the bare walls, the wood supporting the roof showing and sparse furniture decorating the place. "Where are we?" Ino, who looked a bit dejected, finally sighed. "We're in an Inn. We had to get a room to rest you and sensei." The boy's eyebrow arched "Sensei?" Ino nodded. "She collapsed from exhaustion after you did and Hinata and I had to get you two here." Naruto carefully processed the information. _'We won't be able to move until she's fully recharged.'_ Naruto bit his lip. _'Maybe I shouldn't have done so little, we're in some mess right now, but I guess it can't be helped.'_

"Yamanaka-san, do you really wish to become a ninja?" Ino was taken aback by the blunt question but she was able to stutter out a response. "Of-Of course I want to be a ninja! Why wouldn't I want to be one?" Naruto stood up, a little wobble in his step but he steadied himself, and Ino followed him into the other room where Hinata was sitting quietly. "If you want to continue to be a ninja then follow me. It's time that you got stronger." Naruto walked out of the small inn and he made his way out of the small village into the thick forest surrounding it. '_This will be beneficial to them._' Naruto thought as he looked around at the dense trees.

Naruto turned back to the two girls, a little bit of nervousness in their eyes. "You will be doing a simple exercise where you will climb these trees." Ino shook with fury. "Climb trees? That's how you'll get us stronger? Don't make me laugh! Com'on Hinata, lets get out of here." Ino turned to leave when Naruto spoke again. "If you do not believe me then do it Yamanaka-san." Ino clenched her fist, feeling patronized whenever the boy called her that. The kunoichi turned around, ready to yell at him when her jaw went slack. "Wha.. wha… who…" Naruto stood perpendicular to a massive tree, standing steadily in the middle of it. "This is what tree climbing is." Naruto stated calmly. "Controlling the chakra is a necessity in the ninja world and from what I've seen the academy did not show you how to do it properly." Naruto leapt back down to the ground, getting the full attention of the two girls. "You must gather chakra to your feet and 'stick' yourself to the tree. The foot is the hardest place to draw your chakra so it will make for the perfect exercise." Ino gave a nod and was about to walk up the tree when Naruto spoke again. "I suggest you go at it at a run, and another thing." Naruto threw a kunai before them both, "Mark the position you get to and attempt to surpass it each time."

Ino immediately picked up the knife in front of her and set off at a run, not willing to lose any more time. _'You can climb this stupid tree Ino! Then you can show him what you're made of!'_ Ino got five steps before she came crashing back, not putting enough chakra into her feet. Hinata hesitantly picked up her knife. _'I-I can't. If Ino-san can't do it then I'll only get one step._'

Hinata glace over to her teammates and was surprised when Naruto gave her a nod to go on. A sense of reassurance washed over her and Hinata ran at the tree. Naruto hid his surprise as Hinata made it three-fourths of the way to the top before she slid down. _'Hyuuga. Hyuuga. They're some big clan but what were their techniques?_' Naruto just let it go, noting that it probably had to do with chakra control.

"That was pretty good for your first try Yamanaka-san, Hyuuga-san." To Naruto's surprise the blonde glared at him. "Call me Ino! My name is Ino!" Naruto arched an eyebrow but nodded. "If that is what you wish Ino-san." Again Ino yelled at him. "Stop being so formal, we're on the same team for crying out loud." It was Ino's turn to be surprised as she saw a smile slip onto the boy's face. "Is that what you wish as well Hyuuga-san."

Hinata looked to Ino for comfort and what she got was a thumbs up. "Y-Yes Naruto-kun." Hinata blushed, _'why did I call him Naruto-kun?' _

"Ok. Well good job Ino and Hinata." Naruto turned his back to them and began to walk further into the forest. "You will train until it is night, then we will head back."

After Naruto was gone Ino pulled the young Hyuuga over to her. "Say Hinata how'd you get up so far?" Hinata twiddled her fingers nervously. "I-I looked at what N-Naruto-kun was doing and saw how he was able to disperse his chakra." Ino looked at her bewildered. "You did? How?" Hinata pointed to her bulging eyes, a bit of sorrow arising. "I can see it with my blood line."

Ino nodded, knowing what the Hyuuga could do. "So could you help me?" Hinata looked embarrassed but she nodded and Ino looked her in the eye. "Do you think Naruto looked cute when he smiled?" Hinata's face drained and she looked like she was about to faint from such a thought. Ino on the other hand was rolling around laughing at such a sight and in the shadows of the canopy radiant blue eyes watched them. _'Enjoy the laughter while you can Ino-san.'_

XXXXX

Ino collapsed onto her futon with the help of a blonde boy after she had spent the entire day trying to run up that damned tree. With Hinata's help Ino had been able to make it up three-fourths of the trunk while Hinata had been able to make it all the way up. As Ino's eyes drifted close she felt a sense of pride wash over her, pride from accomplishing something and for her male teammate who took charge of the situation. As the girls fell asleep they had no idea what was being done to them by their male compatriot. (NO this is not N/C 17 stuff, if u want that u gotta check out my other fics)

XXXXX

Ino yawned, stretching her arms out and she was surprised to find that she was not sore. She would have thought for sure that after such a day of training that she would be sore all over and not be able to get out of bed at all but she felt nothing. Ino quickly got out of bed and saw Naruto and Hinata eating a quiet breakfast while their teacher was still silently sleeping. As though reading her mind Naruto spoke to her. "Kurenai-sensei won't be up for another day at least, that plant must have done some number on her chakra system."

After a quick breakfast the team walked back out to the trees. "Are we doing the tree walking thing again?" Naruto nodded and Ino whined. "Why do we have to? We already know how to do it!"

Naruto nodded his head, "Then show me." Ino grinned, "Go for it Hinata! Run all the way up the tree!" Hinata looked at Ino surprised but Ino just gave her a smile. "You can do it." The Hyuuga nodded, grabbing a hold of her knife as she drew chakra to her feet and ran at the tree. The girl glided easily up the trunk and was almost at the top when Naruto appeared in front of her, kicking her softly in the stomach. Hinata's eyes widened as she began to fall and terror streaked through her.

"What! Can't you do it! Com'on! Fight! Do it! Stick you feet to the tree!" Naruto screamed at her, showing a terrifying display of emotion. Hinata began to panic as the trunk became wider and wider, the ground coming closer and closer. Hinata tried to put her feet to the tree but it just wouldn't stick, she just couldn't do it! The girl was six feet from a very painful fall when something caught her, dropping carefully to the ground.

"There is a difference to learning it while you're calm and there's no danger and executing it while in combat situations." Naruto said calmly, holding Hinata like someone would hold a bride. The boy looked down to his shivering teammate and a flash of emotion passed through his normally calm, eyes.

Hinata's heart was racing and she tried to breath in order to calm it but it wasn't working, not with those arms holding her. Hinata's thoughts began to wonder and she snapped back to reality, remembering that Naruto was holding her. She looked at his face and she was sucked into his very being. In a look of his eye she saw his emotion, his pain and a look that said he was sorry, that he didn't want to hurt her. She couldn't imagine what was going on in the boy at the moment, why he had such hidden pains and it hurt her to think off what he must have gone through to have that look in his eyes. She wanted to say something, anything, to dull that worry she had seen. She wanted to say that it was alright, that she wasn't hurt and that she knew it was an important lesson but no words came out, instead he put her down and turned to leave, only saying, "When you've mastered that we'll move on."

XXXXX

Naruto closed his eyes, preparing to enter the clearing that he had left the girls in hours ago. He wondered if he had been too harsh, if he should just drop it all and try to start again but a terrible pain stabbed his heart when he thought that. No, he wouldn't let anything like that happen again, he wouldn't feel that pain ever again. The blonde calmly walked into the training area to see what he did not think believe was possible in just a few hours. Hyuuga Hinata and Yamanaka Ino were fighting, not verbally but physically. Each kunoichi was leaping at the other while using the trees as a propellant, keeping their fight high up in the air.

Naruto hid his smile that would have shown his pride and he coughed to get their attention. Ino was the first to slide down the tree, using enough chakra to slow herself before she got to the bottom and Hinata was soon following. "Ya! Did you see us!" Ino threw a fist into the air only to realize that she was extremely sore.

The girl laughed it off and began to look excitedly at Naruto. "See that? We did it in a combat situation like you said. It's really easy once you get the hang of it right Hinata-chan?" The tired looking Hyuuga blushed at the compliment and nodded. "So now that we got that what are we gonna do next?" Ino asked energetically, wanting to prove herself to be a good ninja.

"Next you'll still be doing tree climbing." Ino's vein throbbed and she clenched her fist in anger. "What! More tree climbing? We already did that!" Naruto shook his head. "Never underestimate the basics Yam-Ino-san." Naruto corrected after he saw the look Ino gave him. Naruto began to walk to the tree, his eyes closed. "You will be climbing the tree in the same way you did before but this time you must expel as much chakra from your body as you can." A visible blue outline began to envelope the boy and the two kunoichi stared at the amount of energy being radiated. Naruto began to walk up the tree and finally reached the top, dispelling all of his chakra.

Ino crossed her arms, beginning to gather her own chakra, it seemed easy enough. The kunoichi soon began to push her chakra outward, letting it radiate harmlessly into the air, and when she took a step she knew it was dumb to not listen to Naruto when he said it was the next step. The kunoichi's vision began to blur and a slight headache formed but she ran at the tree anyway, not even getting a step before the trunk was smashed.

Ino couldn't handle it anymore and let her chakra go, finding her vision returned. She looked over to Naruto who was now on the ground but he said nothing except, "We're going back soon." It was then that Ino saw, no felt, Hinata begin to run up the tree in her own attempt and the girl was able to get a quarter of the way up before she fell back down, panting heavily. Ino smiled it was just like Hinata to know exactly what to do but not say anything; that girl really needed to speak up sometimes.

"Hinata, how'd you do that." The girl was startled by Ino and she went into her defensive posture. "Ano… I just saw N-Naruto-k-kun do it and…" Ino walked over to her, that girl really need to get over her stammering problem. Naruto watched as the two conversed and he realized how they must have gotten the hang of tree walking so quickly. Hinata would watch and see just how much chakra was being put in while helping Ino adjust and perfect her chakra control. If Naruto had to label that quiet little girl he would have to call her observant, if not a genius.

Naruto watched as the two ran themselves up the tree until the dropped from exhaustion, which was not very long considering their chakra reserve and the training they went through during the day. Naruto picked them up and carted them back home, to Ino's displeasure and Hinata's embarrassment.

It was three days after Naruto had them running up the tree with their chakra at full, all the while controlling the amount on their feet, that Naruto showed up after they had exhausted their reserves. "It's time you actually start training." Naruto said, forming a seal in the shape of a t. "Kage Bunshin." Three Naruto's appeared out of the smoke and two of them leapt at the tired girls who could do nothing as Naruto began to poke and pry them.

"You must face and destroy the clone in order to return to the inn." Ino groaned, rolling on the ground in an attempt to get up. As soon as the girls got up the clones attacked mercilessly, not giving them a chance to catch their breath. Although the clones were making no real effort to injure the girls could only defend themselves against Naruto. "Com'on Naruto!" Ino said in between blocking kicks. The clone took her moment of distraction to land a kick on the kunoichi's midsection, sending her tumbling backwards.

Hinata wasn't faring all too well herself, dodging this way and that with her strange blank eyes activated. With a nod from Naruto the clone swung with a hard right and Naruto hid his smile when the Hyuuga exploited the wide swing, batting it aside and hitting a spot on the arm with a small bit of chakra in her hand. Hinata collapsed immediately after she hit Naruto, falling unconscious due to exhaustion.

After seeing Hinata's effort and the fact that the clones disappeared after one hit, Ino redoubled her attempts. The blonde finally managed to graze the clone who puffed out of existence and she too collapsed. As Naruto carried them back he gauged their abilities, knowing Ino needed to work on her taijutsu to even be counted as melee combat while Hinata looked to be better in taijutsu, having a peculiar pose and strike. Naruto knew he needed to see what their fighting abilities were like when they were fresh but when tired and battered the instincts rose to the top and Naruto could tell many things.

The boy set them on their beds and let them fall to sleep, knowing that the next day would bring even more pains onto them. Naruto then went to where his sensei was "sleeping" and quickly closed the door behind him. "You don't need to fake it anymore SENSEI." A woman appeared from the shadows of the dark room and the genjutsu that was her body disappeared. "How long have I been out?" the woman asked. "Long enough."

Kurenai looked at him with tight lips, it was obvious that he was still not opening up to her. "What have you been doing? Why are the girls so tired?" Naruto kept on staring at her. "Training. We're staying another week until they're ready." Her eyes widened and then anger coursed through the woman, was that boy commanding her?

"Just what makes you think we're staying?" she asked, trying to regain control of her student. "What makes you think you are qualified to be a teacher, much less a Jounin." Naruto retorted and Kurenai could hear the spite in his voice. Qualified? She was a special Jounin and she was given command of this team and… why was she thinking about it? She was given charge and that should have been enough for the boy.

"What makes you say I'm not qualified Uzumaki? Huh? Do you believe you're some type of god huh, just because you left the village and suddenly got stronger? Why do you question MY authority?" Kurenai would have thought that would have silenced the boy but from the looks of it her comments only spurred him on.

"If you are a Jounin then Konoha's standard must have really fallen. You are also no teacher for not putting your students above satisfying your own thirst for battle. Had it not been for someone to act those girls would have been killed by the first attack and even when you yelled to run when you faced off with Yoko your eyes showed you desire to be saved. That is no way for a teacher to behave, especially a teacher who has yet to show her students the basics of combat and how to overcome fear." Kurenai was left sitting on her futon, guilt and realization hitting her like a full blown jutsu. There was nothing to say to the boy because he was absolutely right. Had it not been for him she would not have realized there was another person attacking that first time, and the second ambush, well the boy had saved them from a messy encounter with those missing nins.

"I-I'm sorry." Her words were unsteady and she felt ashamed for ever acting in such a way that would endanger her students. Kurenai let her head droop. There was no way for her to change that had happened, no way for her to make it up to the boy but she had to try and correct things. "Naruto I'm sorry I haven't been the best of teachers. The fact of the matter is I was only recently made Jounin and…" Kurenai saw the look in his face that told her whatever excuses she had didn't make up for the fact that she had screwed up.

"Ok… so what have you been doing these past few… how long have I been out again?" Naruto didn't exactly glare at her but the woman could tell his eyes were searching for something within her and he seemed to find it. "You've been asleep for five days. I've had the girls put onto basic chakra training and helping them adjust to battle conditions."

Kurenai showed her surprise to the boy who showed nothing to her. "What do you have them doing for chakra training?" With a calm voice Naruto spoke to his sensei. "They've been climbing trees." A smile appeared on the woman's face. "And how far along have they gotten?"

"Both have been able to reach the top of the tree." Kurenai's jaw dropped. It was unheard of for such students to progress so much as those girls were. "Anything else that you did?" Naruto turned for the door, obviously done with the conversation. "You will find out tomorrow."

Kurenai stared, it seemed as though she did a lot of that recently, at Naruto's vanishing back and she felt the urge to give that boy a spanking or two to put some manners into him but she didn't. The woman lay back on her futon, her whole body aching, thinking about what the blonde had just told her and about whether she should have been made a Jounin instructor. She just couldn't figure whether the Hokage had made the right choice in letting her take the position as instructor. The woman closed her eyes and fell asleep, hoping that tomorrow would bring a better day.

Hopefully I'll be able to update soon, that goes for all my fics for those of u who want to know. I wanna finish one of my firsts this summer, A Gift/A Fading Light, but there's lots of summer HW for me and also WoW is taking a part of my soul, literally it is! Well review! I want more reviews and readers darn it! keep reading and keeping the Naruto fanfiction alive!


	4. AN

Hey it's been a while and I just wanted to post to let people know that I'm no long writing these stories. If you would like you can take the ideas and run with them but I'm sorry to say I have no motivation to write any epic stories like these would have become.


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